West Coast Urban District Forum March 13-15, 2018

Transcription

1 West Coast Urban District Forum March 13-15, 2018 Join Walnut Creek Downtown Business Association, the California Downtown Association and IDA for the 2018 West Coast Urban District Forum March 13-15, Master talks and breakout sessions will explore how downtowns serve as economic development resources beyond city boundaries, and the role social media plays in encouraging community engagement. Experts will share best practices on enhancing downtown quality of life and cultivating the next generation of leaders. With a rich cultural history and thriving downtown, Walnut Creek, known as the jewel of the East Bay, is the perfect location to draw industry experts from around the region. Walnut Creek offers a distinctive blend of urban flair, suburban grace and peaceful wilderness. An urban oasis surrounded by unspoiled hillsides, Walnut Creek is embraced for its mild Mediterranean climate, picture perfect setting, shopping, dining, and the arts. See you in Walnut Creek! Tuesday, March 13, :00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Registration Location: Walnut Creek Marriott, 2355 North Main Street, Walnut Creek, CA :00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. Pre-Conference Tour: Policies and Partnerships: Fostering Growth and Harnessing Potential in Walnut Creek Walking Tour Meeting Cost: $25 Join City staff on a walking tour of downtown Walnut Creek where guiding policies and successful partnerships have created opportunities, attracted investment to promote Walnut Creek as a regional leader with a strong local economy, and generated a wealth of community investment. 5:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Opening Reception Wednesday, March 14, :30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. Registration Location: Walnut Creek Marriott, 2355 North Main Street, Walnut Creek, CA :45 a.m. 8:30a.m. Continental Breakfast 8:30 a.m. 10:00 a.m. Opening Plenary and Master Talks Speakers: TBA 10:30 a.m. 12:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions Improvement and Benefit for Who? The Hows, Whys and What-To-Dos About Gentrification We know of and have experienced the correlation between Economic Growth and Economic Disparity. As we work to improve our Downtowns and make our cities more desirable places to live work and visit, are the unsustainable impacts on racial, cultural and economic diversity avoidable? This session will explore the complexities of gentrification in California Cities and the role of BID leaders and Place makers in advocating for social equity. Changing Face of Economic Development: Land Use, Sustainability, and Housing Millennial demographics, internet-fueled lifestyles, and a sharing economy (rides, workplace) alter land use and tax generation priorities for cities. Retail is no longer just about retail, with place, authenticity, and trips, becoming the defining components of a successful town center. Concurrently, the state is

2 driving cities to change land use processes based on climate control and affordable housing mandates, while providing development incentives through new incentives and districts. Cities can comply with state mandates using new sustainability and housing districts (EIFD, HSD, WHOZ, NIFTI, CRIA) that blend zoning incentives and tax increment to yield taxes, jobs and housing. Learn how to accomplish economic development and fortify downtowns while complying with state housing and sustainability mandates and attract uses and tenants that will thrive, not collapse in a digital economy. The Art of Leadership What does the art of leadership look like in practice? Join our panel of experts as they unpack a vibrant conversation centering in on the heart of the art of leadership. How do you motivate people? What does it take to build a championship team? How does holding power lightly actually produce better results? How does a leader use conflict to build a stronger team and produce better outcomes? Our panel will discuss actual case studies that are directly applicable to your situation to show how you can improve your leadership art. Domain: Organization Management Growth Without Gridlock: Making the Case for Mobility Investments Downtown Downtowns are transforming into more people-centered places by actively prioritizing transit, biking, and walking: the key to moving more people in the same street space. Not only does this require a different approach to planning and street design, but it also requires a paradigm shift in thinking. In previously automobile-centric cities, changing the status quo takes significant political will and intentional effort. In this session, hear cities strategies for making the case for sustainable mobility. Social Media: How to Tell the Story of a Place in Eight Seconds With the human attention span reportedly at eight seconds (less than a goldfish!), how do we get people to stop scrolling and pay attention? In this session, we will discuss strategies and contacts to help you break through the online noise. 12:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. Lunch 2:00 p.m. 3:30 p.m. Breakout Sessions Internet VS IRL and the Power of FOMO So much living is done online now, but how do you harness humans desire to show off to each other via social media? Producing effective events takes more today than just having the right decorations, catering, and purpose. You must have your Instagram moments, your tweetable tidbits, but most of all you need FOMO-inducing Facebook buzz even before you open the doors! This session features speakers who have gotten people off the web and into their districts with exciting, innovative events. The resulting #hype is the gift that keeps on giving. YOLO! What Now How Can Downtowns Survive and Prosper in a Time of Growing Homelessness? Most western cities are experiencing significant increases in homelessness because of the housing, mental health and drug crises. This panel will explore what downtowns can do to help reduce homelessness and adverse impacts of those living on our streets, including homeless outreach, tough love enforcement, and supporting innovative new programs and policies. What is working and what can we do to make specific changes in our downtowns? And in particular, how do we deal with problematic street behavior from

3 service resistant populations in our downtowns that have a detrimental impact on our businesses and public spaces? Domain: Public Space Management and Operations The Pros and Cons of Different Approaches to Funding Downtown Improvements and Programs Are you looking for ways to sustain and/or diversify funding for your organization? Considering implementing a tourism or property-based BID or looking to expand the current boundaries of your district? Bring your questions to this session, and hear from three experts in the industry who work across California and the country assisting downtown and neighborhood districts with funding models. Domain: Organizational Management Resilience on the Street: Preparing for the Unexpected Imagine a disaster hitting your community. Who will lead the response and recovery? What are the impacts you need to prepare for? This session will cover man-made issues and natural hazards. What might be unexpected to you has been studied by our expert panel from active threats to flooding, earthquakes and fires our panel has seen it all. Don't miss the chance to learn from national leaders in risk and resilience as you gain tactical information to prepare your district for the expected and unexpected. Domain: Public Space Management & Operations 4:00 p.m. 5:30 p.m. Open Space Discussions 5:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Networking Reception 7:00 p.m. Dinner on your own in Walnut Creek Thursday, March 15, :30 a.m. 10:00 a.m. Breakout Sessions Downtown and the Green Rush Economy Taking a look at the legalization of adult use marijuana in California and surrounding states, panelists will discuss best practices as well as the challenges of incorporating this new industry into their districts. Colorado, Washington and California have opened the door for this business, but have left much of the regulatory oversight up to the local governments to develop. Will the pot industry be overly regulated or be the financial salvation of state and local budgets? This session will help to debunk the hype and share best practices to help downtowns navigate the Green Rush Economy. Domain: Policy & Advocacy Preserving the Golden Goose Did you know that restaurants are the number one generator of sales tax? Learn more about the changing face of the restaurant industry from an operations viewpoint of the local restauranteur as well as policies affecting restaurants at the state and national level. Participate in an in-depth discussion about how the laws around employee benefits and minimum wage are impacting the industry. Share stories from your district and learn how others are handling sitations such as food trucks, employee parking and robot delivery. Wake Up and Smell the Residents: How Residents are Changing the Place Management Industry

4 This session will review the growing role of residents in downtowns and the importance of integrating residential uses into place management. Panelists will offer tools to accommodate residential needs for healthy and complete communities, and will also explore how organizations incorporate residential uses into business improvement districts. Highlights of IDA's Living Downtown: The New Residential Paradigm Top Issues Council report will set the stage for the discussion about successfully working with residents. Enlivening Conventional Space with Unconventional Activation This session allows you to let your mind wander and think creatively about your downtown! Do you have a corner of your city that needs renovation and activation? Is there an existing street, garage or alley that poses a challenge for your BID? Session panelists will share examples of enlivening conventional public spaces with unconventional activation think outside of the box! You'll review logistics BIDs should consider when working with city staff, stakeholders and community. Activation is the key to carrying out the vision. Hear about successful programs both large and small. We will share ideas and look forward to hearing about what has worked in your city. Domain: Public Space Management and Operations 10:30 a.m. 12:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions Damage Control: Staying On Brand in Bad Situations How do you reinforce the positive aspects of your brand in the middle of a PR nightmare? Whether it s a natural disaster or a man-made mess, effective crisis communication techniques can help you control the message. Learn how to balance the more aspirational components of your brand platform with the reality of what visitors to your districts encounter. Hear about methods to shift the conversation from the negative to the positive when the media seems only to be telling the salacious side of your story. Demographic Inversion and Ethnic Sub-Markets Drawing on case studies from across California and the West Coast, this timely session will explore in detail the kinds of business districts and retail mixes that appeal to different sorts of ethnic and immigrant submarkets. The phenomenon of demographic inversion will be unpacked and its impacts on such settings and populations analyzed. Finally, specific roles and responsibilities for urban place management organizations in mitigating such effects will be proposed. NIMBYs, Elites and Socialist, Oh My! How Downtown Organizations are Navigating Political Turbulence In many cities and downtowns, our newfound success is leading to higher housing costs, spiraling labor rates and rapid gentrification of neighborhoods. Without interventions and investments to promote affordable housing, stabilize neighborhoods, workforce training, public education and other social equity measures, many cities are at risk of losing what makes them authentic, and arguably the DNA for their economic vitality. Downtown organizations have a role in this debate and can help shape local policies and responses. Domain: Policy & Advocacy Incubators A Shot in the Arm for your District A panel of experts from successful incubator programs will present on how fostering entrepreneurial spirit through co-work and incubator spaces are strengthening downtowns. Learn how this business model can add residents, businesses and vibrant activity in your district. Panelists represent downtowns of varying size and economies to help you develop your own strategy to get that added shot in the arm.

5 12:00 p.m. Closing Plenary Luncheon and Keynote address Speakers: TBA CO-HOSTED BY